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To everyone, Cedric Callisto was a cruel, selfish, and arrogant being. A vampire obsessed with werewolves, incapable of forgiveness, who despised his father and, according to rumors, even his younger brother.
But that last part wasn’t true.
Cedric could never hate Kieran.
His father, on the other hand, did deserve his contempt. He had the power to avenge their mother’s death, murdered by a pack of werewolves, and did nothing. He merely stayed silent, keeping his hands clean and his heart empty. To Cedric, that passivity was an unforgivable betrayal.
Sometimes he thought the coven considered him a monster, and maybe he was, but someone had to carry the rage his father had buried under years of resignation.
Carmen, his mother’s sister, also blamed patriarch Callisto for his inaction. Cedric shared her hatred toward him, but not her venom toward Kieran. Carmen saw the boy as a weak reflection, a reminder of tragedy. Cedric saw what remained of his mother: the tenderness, the light that still refused to be extinguished.
Because he still remembered what his brother had been like before it all.
Kieran used to be a happy child. He ran among the rose bushes in the garden, chased butterflies, and laughed until the afternoon faded. But after their mother’s death, something in him broke.
Nights were filled with nightmares. Cedric, still young but already hardened, often snuck into his room when he heard muffled sobs. He would sit beside him, tell stories, or sing the songs their mother had taught them. Sometimes, Kieran would fall asleep in his arms, trembling as if the cold from the forest still pursued him.
The coven thought Cedric could barely stand his brother, but the truth was different: what he couldn’t stand were the looks from others.
The judgment.
The pity.
Since their father became a ghost among them, Cedric was Kieran’s only refuge. Or so he believed.
As the years passed, Kieran changed.
Adolescence made him quiet, distant. Cedric tried not to worry, convinced he was still his first choice.
Until everything took a turn for the worse.
His brother refused the exchange, choosing the sun over the night, and Cedric accepted it.
It was fine. Or so he told himself repeatedly.
Until, three months later, Kieran confessed he had a boyfriend.
A werewolf boyfriend.
Cedric could accept many things, but that… that he could not.
He still remembered the tantrum, the shouting, the crashing of furniture… the sound of glass shattering against the floor.
No one came, no one dared intervene when Cedric lost control.
When the silence finally fell, only the two of them remained: Cedric breathing heavily, Kieran trembling in his seat.
—I’m sorry, Cedric…—
His brother whispered, his voice breaking.
A pang shot through the vampire’s chest. He didn’t want to scare him; he didn’t want to be seen as a monster.
—Don’t apologize…—
He murmured, with a forced, almost clumsy tone.
Kieran looked at him, confused. Cedric swallowed hard before asking:
—Did Mason force you? Did he enchant you in some way?—
—No!—
Kieran answered quickly.
—He wouldn’t make me do anything.—
Cedric studied him carefully. He was certain Mason wouldn’t dare hurt his brother, or so he thought. If he did, Cedric would tear him apart with his own hands.
—Alright…—
He finally relented.
—But that wolf… wasn’t he Marcella’s boyfriend? Or are you in a polyamorous relationship?—
Kieran nearly choked.
—No! I’m not in a polyamorous relationship! Mason and Cella broke up… and… it just happened, okay?—
Cedric looked at him with a mix of confusion and resignation.
Then he extended his hand.
—Come on.—
Kieran took it, and Cedric helped him to his feet before hugging him tightly. For the first time in a long while, the silence between them was not uncomfortable.
—Kieran…—
Cedric whispered.
—Yes?—
—Wouldn’t you like a boyfriend with financial stability who can at least do math without using his fingers?—
—CEDRIC!—
Kieran protested, indignant.
—I was just suggesting—
He said, smiling, before letting out a laugh that finally broke the tension.
For a moment, among the shadows of the coven, the Callisto brothers seemed like just two ordinary boys laughing in the night.
Now, in the present, Cedric found himself accompanying the idiotic teenagers… “sorry,” friends of his younger brother. Among them were Annalise, Casper, who had gatecrashed without invitation, María, Jasmyn, Julia, Marcella, and her new boyfriend Blake.
Cedric swore he couldn’t stand them, but his brother was happy, and that was enough.
They were in an enormous, absurdly loud shopping mall.
And then… disaster struck.
—HOW DID YOU LOSE MASON!?—
Kieran yelled, on the verge of collapse.
—It wasn’t intentional—
Cedric replied with suspicious calm. He was blatantly lying.
He had accompanied the idiot werewolf to an art store, and when Mason got distracted looking at brushes, probably intending to buy some for Kieran, who had mentioned needing new ones, Cedric had taken advantage and simply walked away. On purpose.
—CEDRIC!—
Kieran shook him by the shoulders, desperate.
—It’s not funny! He could have really gotten lost!—
Cedric smiled. A dangerous smile.
—Oh, come on, Kieran. Dogs always find their way home, right?—
—Don’t call him a dog!—
The boy protested.
—You’re right—
Cedric nodded in mock reflection.
—Clueless furry pet sounds better.—
Kieran covered his face with his hands, trying not to scream.
—Cedric, seriously… I need to find him. I’m worried.—
Cedric sighed theatrically, as if it were stealing years of his life.
—Alright, little brother. Just tell me one thing… what exactly do you see in that werewolf?—
His younger brother paused for a moment, as if searching for the right words.
—He makes me laugh—
He finally said. Because he couldn’t tell his brother what he really thought; he would probably call him a “hormonal teenager,” laugh, or be horrified.
Cedric stared at him in disbelief.
—Laugh? That’s it? I can hire you a clown, and not one with fleas.—
—CEDRIC!—
Kieran shouted, embarrassed and annoyed.
—Alright, alright…—
He raised his hands in surrender, but Cedric didn’t erase his smile.
—I’ll find your furry boyfriend.—
—Promise!—
Kieran said hopefully.
—Promise.—
Cedric smiled… but when Kieran turned away, he muttered to himself.
—Eventually.—
An hour later, Mason appeared with a bag full of brushes and a calm smile, as if nothing had happened. In his other hand, he carried a milkshake. Why? He was a werewolf; he could have tracked his group by scent if he really wanted. But he didn’t. He preferred to play dumb and stroll through the mall, just to give Cedric a few minutes of false happiness with his disappearance.
He hadn’t expected Kieran to worry so much about him. After all, they were in a city they didn’t know, inside a mall. Now he felt like a bad boyfriend, so he approached and hugged him.
—You’re okay!—
Kieran exclaimed, relieved.
Cedric watched from a distance, arms crossed and expression annoyed. Annalise, standing beside him, commented:
—You’re terrible, did you know that?—
—No, I’m pedagogical—
Cedric raised an eyebrow.
—Now Mason will know that losing sight of a vampire is not a good idea.—
Annalise let out an incredulous laugh.
—You’re impossible.—
—And charming—
Cedric replied, smiling slightly as he watched his brother laugh with the werewolf.
Inside, he sighed. Maybe he didn’t understand how he could love a werewolf… but if Kieran smiled like that, then it was worth tolerating even Mason Kane.
With limits.
Many limits.
And far too many boundaries.
For example:
—HEY! YOU CAN’T KISS MY BROTHER, IDIOT! DON’T TOUCH HIM EITHER!—
There he went again.